In-store pick up = 75 mile round trip

When I ordered my new sleeping bag, I opted for in-store pick up. It saved me ten dollars and more importantly gave an opportunity to to do a long day ride. I had two options. I could either pick it up in Saratoga - over the Santa Cruz Mountains, or I could pick it up in Marina - not quite to Monterey. Since Monterey County is like my new exciting discovery, I decided on Marina.

I asked my friend Kelly if she wanted to come with me because I wanted to do it fast, and of all my friends who ride, she's in the 10% that's almost inarguably faster than me ("Almost" might be giving me too much credit. She's probably totally faster than me). Anyway she agreed, but then bailed out on me last minute. So, I was going at it alone.

I left around 9:30 on a Sunday, and I wasn't feeling too quick. I pushed on, and I tried to force a pace on myself that was a little outside my comfort zone (since I didn't have anyone to push me). After a few miles, I'd gotten used to the pace, and though there were a few adjustments I wanted to make to the bike, I decided not to stop until it was too hot for my hoodie or until I found a bike shop. I hadn't brought any water, and I planned on buying a Klean Kanteen water bottle along the way and filling it.

These two stipulations held for two hours, and next thing I knew, I was in Marina locking my bike up at REI. I looked around for a Klean Kanteen, and the only ones they had were the tall ones. I wanted the short one that would fit in my bottle cages, so I skipped on them. I hit the water fountain and then picked up my new sleeping bag at the front counter.

I was 37 miles into the ride and all I'd had was a mouth full of water and a Lara Bar. I was starving, but I kind of wanted to get some deep fried artichokes in Moss Landing, about ten to fifteen miles back. I hopped back on my bike and rolled out.

I've now learned that consistently, as far as I can tell, the wind coming in from the west between Moss Landing and Marina is pretty rough. All the sprinting and skipping on water on the way to Marina, now, took its toll. I could barely push myself forward in the wind, and on the final stretch of road before I turned back onto Highway 1 and slightly away from the wind, I found myself grimacing and yelling at myself to push. I made the turn and could now see the café in the distance.

I stepped into Moss Landing Café feeling like I was about to fall apart. I staggered for a moment looking at the tables and the server told me to sit anywhere I'd like.
"Can I get you anything to drink?"
"Beer. You have beer?"
"Yes."
"Do you have Anchor Steam?"
"Yes."
"I would love an Anchor Steam, please."
My voice sounded weak and shaky even to me.

I threw my things into the booth and then fell into it. She set the beer down, and I drank half of it immediately. I explained my exhaustion, and I ordered some deep fried artichokes (amazing by the way). She was very sweet and kept the water coming. When I'd finally collected myself and started to leave, she asked if I'd ever tried the carrot muffins. I told her, no, but that I would next time. Then right before I walked out, she gave me a free carrot muffin. I thought it would've been rude to ask if it were vegan, so I only thanked her made my way out to my bike.

The rest of the ride back was uneventful. I stopped at the Army/Navy Surplus, but didn't find anything I was looking for (some old Swiss bread panniers or a Navy pea jacket in my size). I got into Santa Cruz and all but fell onto my bed. It was quite a day - about 73.5 miles roundtrip with no water, a new sleeping bag, and deep fried artichokes.

First Tour: supplemental

The day after I returned from the weekend in Monterey and Big Sur, I received a phone call. It was from the guy whose wallet I'd found and dropped off. He was really grateful, and his wife had told him that I was on a bike tour (a detail I'd mentioned when I'd called her office before dropping off the wallet). He told me that he worked at REI, and he wanted to send me a gift card out of appreciation so that I could buy some supplies for touring. I told him thank you very much, gave him my address, and we said good-bye.

A couple of days later, a package showed up. I opened it and there was a handlebar bag and a $65 gift certificate. I couldn't believe it. I had actually wanted to get a handlebar bag - something in which I could keep my phone and maybe a camera handy. And, $65 was way more than I imagined he'd send. I got on the REI Outlet website and found a 2008 REI 20º Fahrenheit down sleeping bag that was on close-out just because it was an '08. It was regularly $185 - marked down to $124. I added it to my cart and it came up as $95.

$95 - $65 gift certificate + $10 shipping = $40 sleeping bag

$95 - $65 gift certificate + in-store pick up = my next big ride